Park and ride

The better way to reach the town centre

image of park and ride

Arriva operates the Park & Ride bus service on behalf of Maidstone Borough Council. We offer free parking, a quick ride into town, no parking problems and a cheap bus fare. Regular travellers can save even more with a 10 single trip ticket or season ticket.

Maidstone Park & Ride operates Monday to Friday and Saturdays. There is no service on a Sunday and Bank Holidays.

Arriva has invested in buses which feature a low floor inside, with no entrance steps. These buses make travelling more accessible for everyone including wheelchair users.

The buses may be painted yellow, but they are also 'green'. Running on environmentally-friendly fuel, their engines are built to the latest stringent regulations governing exhaust emissions to help reduce pollution in Maidstone.

A small group of drivers are permanently allocated to the Park & Ride services to ensure that you receive a high quality service.

We offer:

Three car parks - FREE Parking for service users*
Frequent buses
Easy access for everyone

View the service map

If you have SATNAV in your vehicle, the following postcodes will help you navigate to the site:

London Road - ME16 0LP

Sittingbourne Road - ME14 3EN

Willington Street - ME15 8JW

Please note these sites are not public car parks. Their use is restricted to those using the Park and Ride service. If parking you must pay a fare, have a 10 trip ticket clipped or be prepared to show a season ticket before leaving the site.

Services from November 2, 2009

Monday to Friday

Saturdays

London Road

First bus into town

Main daytime frequency

Last bus back from town

0700

every 15 mins

1833

0800

every 15 mins

1833

Sittingbourne Road 506

First bus into town

Main daytime frequency

Last bus back from town

0700

every 12/15 mins

1830

0800

every 12/15 mins

1830

Willington Street 501

First bus into town

Main daytime frequency

Last bus back from town

0700

every 15 mins

1833

0800

every 15 mins

1833

If you require actual times for the buses, click on these links to the Arriva Website

Willington Street

London Road

Sittingbourne Road

All bus stops are request stops. These services are intended to convey customers to and from the Park and Ride sites. They do not offer local journeys in the town centre.

We amended the bus services from 2 November 2009 as customers did not like some of the changes introduced earlier this year. There had also been ongoing operational delays on sections of the new routes which have caused unreliability. In addition Park and Ride has suffered from the effects of the recession with revenue being considerably below budget.

To help offset this loss and still maintain a regular service discussions took place with Arriva to agree a revised pattern of services that can be delivered at a reduced cost. This involves services reverting to the previous route pattern with some reductions in frequency.

From 2 November 2009 the services operate as follows:-

WILLINGTON STREET (Service 501) is linked across town with LONDON ROAD (Service 503). Buses operate every 15 minutes in both the peak and the off peak.

SITTINGBOURNE ROAD (Service 506) has reverted to operating on its own as a loop via Sittingbourne Road, King Street, High Street, Pudding Lane, Earl Street, St.Faith's Street, East Station and Holland Road. Buses operate every 10/12 minutes in the peak and every 12/15 minutes in the off peak.

A timetable leaflet is also available from the Arriva Shop and Tourist Information Centre at the Town Hall.

Travelling from Willington Street to County Hall/East Station

Passengers wishing to travel from Willington Street to East Station (County Hall) may transfer at the Boots (King Street) bus stop onto a 506 Sittingbourne Road service bus to complete their journey. Just show the driver of that service a ticket (day return, 10 trip, Season or Bus pass receipt) to show that you have travelled in from Willington Street.

Cost

The weekly ticket has been replaced by a new 10 (single) Trip Ticket. This gives the same great value and helps customers who travel less frequently. You can now get the cheaper fare when more than one adult shares a car - just have each adults journey clipped. £10 for 10 single tickets a discount of £2.50 (Valid for three months).

Park & Ride Fares from the Sitesto the Town Centre - from 2nd February 2009
Peak Day Return (up to 9am inclusive, Mondays to Fridays)	£2.50 return
Off-Peak Day Return 10 Single Trip Ticket (must be used within 3 months of purchase)	£1.50 return £10 (10 singles)

Twelve-Week Season Ticket	£100.00
Annual Season Ticket	£400.00
Twelve-week and Annual Season Tickets can be purchased from the Arriva enquiry office in the Mall Chequers Centre. All other tickets are available from the driver. Peak Day Return Fares apply to all buses scheduled to depart at or before 9am on Mondays to Fridays. In the event of a bus running late, the fares charged will be those applicable at the time the first passenger buys a ticket. Season Tickets may be used on any of the Park & Ride Services. The National Bus Pass is currently accepted on these services. Return Tickets can also be purchased from town centre bus stops for journeys to the Sittingbourne Road Eclipse Business Park. (At the Peak Day Return Fare of £2.50)

National buss pass on Park & Ride servces

Holders of the National Bus Pass are only permitted to use these on the Park and Ride service for journeys between the Park and Ride sites and the town centre and return, or between the Chiltern Hundreds bus stops and the town centre and return. They are not accepted for local journeys within the town centre.

Those customers returning from the town without a ticket will be charged £2.50 at all times of the day.

Children under-five travel free at all times. Up to two children under the age of 17 may travel free with each adult at off peak times. Children under 17 years may not travel unless accompanied by an adult.